TY - JOUR
T1 - Metalized Polymer Current Collector for High-Energy Lithium-Ion Batteries with Extreme Fast-Charging Capability
AU - Feng, Yue
AU - Polizos, Georgios
AU - Kalnaus, Sergiy
AU - Tao, Runming
AU - Neumayer, Sabine
AU - Steenman, Wheatley
AU - Sharma, Jaswinder
AU - Pereira, Drew J.
AU - Morin, Brian
AU - Li, Jianlin
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 UChicago Argonne, LLC, Oak Ridge National laboratory, managed by UT- Battelle, LLC and Soteria Battery Innovation Group Inc. Energy & Environmental Materials published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Zhengzhou University.
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - Electric vehicles are pivotal in the global shift toward decarbonizing road transport, with lithium-ion batteries at the heart of this technological evolution. However, the pursuit of batteries capable of extremely fast charging that also satisfy high energy and safety criteria, poses a significant challenge to current lithium-ion batteries technologies. Additionally, the increasing demand for aluminum (Al) and copper (Cu) in electrification, solar energy technologies, and vehicle light-eighting is driving these metals toward near-critical status in the medium term. This study introduces metalized polythylene terephthalate (mPET) polymer films by depositing an Al or Cu thin layer onto two sides of a polyethylene terephthalate film—named mPET/Al and mPET/Cu, as lightweight, cost-effective alternatives to traditional metal current collectors in lithium-ion batteries. We have fabricated current collectors that significantly reduce weight (by 73%), thickness (by 33%), and cost (by 85%) compared with traditional metal foil counterparts. These advancements have the potential to enhance energy density to 280 Wh kg−1 at the electrode level under 10-min charging at 6 C. Through testing, including a novel extremely fast charging protocol across various C-rates and long-term cycling (up to 1000 cycles) in different cell configurations, the superior performance of these metalized polymer films has been demonstrated. Notably, mPET/Cu and mPET/Al films exhibited comparable capacities to conventional cells under extremely fast charging, with the mPET cells showing a 27% improvement in energy density at 6 C and maintaining significant energy density after 1000 cycles. This study underscores the potential of mPET films to revolutionize the roll-to-roll battery manufacturing process and significantly advance the performance metrics of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles applications.
AB - Electric vehicles are pivotal in the global shift toward decarbonizing road transport, with lithium-ion batteries at the heart of this technological evolution. However, the pursuit of batteries capable of extremely fast charging that also satisfy high energy and safety criteria, poses a significant challenge to current lithium-ion batteries technologies. Additionally, the increasing demand for aluminum (Al) and copper (Cu) in electrification, solar energy technologies, and vehicle light-eighting is driving these metals toward near-critical status in the medium term. This study introduces metalized polythylene terephthalate (mPET) polymer films by depositing an Al or Cu thin layer onto two sides of a polyethylene terephthalate film—named mPET/Al and mPET/Cu, as lightweight, cost-effective alternatives to traditional metal current collectors in lithium-ion batteries. We have fabricated current collectors that significantly reduce weight (by 73%), thickness (by 33%), and cost (by 85%) compared with traditional metal foil counterparts. These advancements have the potential to enhance energy density to 280 Wh kg−1 at the electrode level under 10-min charging at 6 C. Through testing, including a novel extremely fast charging protocol across various C-rates and long-term cycling (up to 1000 cycles) in different cell configurations, the superior performance of these metalized polymer films has been demonstrated. Notably, mPET/Cu and mPET/Al films exhibited comparable capacities to conventional cells under extremely fast charging, with the mPET cells showing a 27% improvement in energy density at 6 C and maintaining significant energy density after 1000 cycles. This study underscores the potential of mPET films to revolutionize the roll-to-roll battery manufacturing process and significantly advance the performance metrics of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles applications.
KW - current collector
KW - energy density
KW - fast charging
KW - lithium-ion batteries
KW - metalized polymer film
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85215660866&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/eem2.12878
DO - 10.1002/eem2.12878
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85215660866
SN - 2575-0348
JO - Energy and Environmental Materials
JF - Energy and Environmental Materials
ER -